“Where would we be without the GAA?”: Gaelic games and Irishness in London

Abstract

Sports are an integral component in the cultural landscape of a society or community, contributing towards a sense of collective identity and belonging. As a sporting and cultural organisation that holds a prominent position in Irish society, it seems obvious that the GAA would emerge in locations where Irish emigrants have established communities. Nevertheless, this aspect of the Irish experience abroad is often neglected in academic studies of the Irish diaspora. This study examines the role that the GAA and Gaelic games play in facilitating the construction of Irishness in London. The London Irish community is a multi-generational collective encompassing varying interpretations of Irishness, contrasting experiences of living in London and different levels of engagement with the Irish cultural forms and institutions associated with it. The recent arrival of large numbers of new Irish emigrants as well as the expanding London born second- and subsequent-generation Irish population is indicative of a continually shifting and evolving community. As the focus in diaspora studies increasingly turns towards the role of cultural institutions as markers of identity and community, this article uses the GAA as a lens to shed fresh light on what it means to be Irish abroad in the twenty-first century.

Keywords:

• Gaelic games
• Gaelic Athletic Association
• London Irish community
• Irish diaspora
• Irish Studies
• sport

Notes

1. Fitzpatrick reveals “that in 2008 there were 398 international clubs affiliated” to the GAA.

2. See Bradley, Darby, Hassan and McCarthy for studies of the development and role of the GAA for Irish people living in Scotland, the United States of America, Europe and Australia respectively.

3. Darby and Hassan, Emigrant Players; Darby and Hassan, “Introduction: Locating Sport in the Study of the Irish Diaspora”.

4. Glynn et al., Irish Emigration in an Age of Austerity.

5. Hassan and Darby highlight the neglect in their edited collection, Emigrant Players.

6. Journalists such as Pat Griffin and Robert Mulhern have provided insights into the social impact of the GAA in London and the historical development of the Irish sporting organisation in London respectively.

7. Moore, “Gaelic Games and the Irish Diaspora in London”.

8. Survey participants are either past or present members or supporters of the GAA in London and were recruited by several methods, including social media platforms and forums, Irish-orientated media including the national Irish newspaper, The Irish Times and its dedicated “Generation Emigration” blog, as well as Irish community newspapers in London including The Irish Post and The Irish World.

9. Safran, “Diasporas in Modern Societies”; and Clifford, “Diasporas”.

10. Gordon and Anderson, The African Diaspora, 288.

11. Safran, “Diasporas in Modern Societies,” 83–4.

12. Barth, Ethnic Groups and Boundaries.

13. Anthais, “Evaluating ‘Diaspora’: Beyond Ethnicity”; Anthais, “New Hybridities, Old Concepts”; Anthais, “Where do I Belong?”; Brubaker, “The ‘Diaspora’ Diaspora”; Clifford, “Diasporas”; and Walter, Outsiders Inside: Whiteness, Place and Irish Women.

14. Fletcher, “Who Do ‘they’ Cheer for?” 6.

15. Brah, Cartographies of Diaspora, 183.

16. Brah, Cartographies of Diaspora.

17. Clifford, “Diasporas,” 308.

18. Ibid., 308; and Gilroy, The Black Atlantic.

19. Anderson, Imagined Communities, 143.

20. Cronin, Sport and Nationalism in Ireland, 79.

21. Darby, Harkin, Hassan and O’Connor have explored the inclusion of non-Irish players in GAA clubs in United Sates of America, London and Europe respectively.

22. MacClancy, Sport, Identity and Ethnicity, 3.

23. See Bradley and Darby’s insightful analysis of the development and role of the GAA in Scotland and USA respectively.

24. The “Generation Emigration” blog on the Irish Times website is an extensive resource exploring the experiences of Irish emigrants. Many of the contributors are recent emigrants and the “Comments” sections provide an invaluable insight into the attitudes of emigrants. Many have stated within here that they have actively disengaged with Irishness abroad in favour of assimilating into the host society.

25. Hassan, “Role of Gaelic Games in the Irish Diaspora,” 397.

26. Brah, Cartographies of Diaspora, 182.

27. Ibid., 209.

28. Survey 24.

29. Interview, Stephen, January 2012.

30. Interview, Brendan, July 2011.

31. Survey 33.

32. Interview, Brendan, July 2011.

33. Interview, Niall, March 2012.

34. Survey 56.

35. Survey 29.

36. Survey 79.

37. Survey 27.

38. Survey 50.

39. Survey 56.

40. Interview, James, March 2013.

41. Gaelic Athletic Association, Official Guide – Part 1, 6.

42. Interview, Joe, January 2013.

43. Interview, Sean, July 2011.

44. Interview, Niall, March 2012.

45. Clifford, “Diasporas”.

46. Interview, Ronan, July 2013.

47. See Brah, Cartographies of Diaspora; Hall, “Cultural Identity and Diaspora”; Hall, “Culture, Community, Nation,” 349–63; Fletcher, “Who Do ‘they’ Cheer for?”; and Gray, “Irish Women in London” amongst others for a more in-depth analysis of different forms of migrant identity.

48. Interview, Amy, January 2014.

49. Interview, Larry, March 2013.

50. Woodward, “Here We Go-but Where?”

51. Interview, Sarah, March 2013.